New Cherry chief sets targets

New Cherry chief sets targets

Fredrik Burvall has set his sights on helping Cherry secure further expansion in the online gaming sector after being appointed as president and CEO of the Swedish operator.

Burvall had been serving as acting chief executive and president since December, following the departure of Emil Sunvission. However, he will now assume both roles on a full-time basis and oversee Cherry’s ongoing growth strategy.

Speaking to TotallyGaming.com about his full-time appointment, Burvall said that he intends to continue the operator’s current level of expansion in online gaming.

“Online gaming continues to grow within the company and that is our core focus moving forward,” Burvall said.

“I have worked for Cherry since 2006 and I’m both proud of what we have achieved up to now and excited about our future plans.”

Burvall, who served as vice-president and chief financial officer prior to taking on the acting roles late last year, has also revealed his intention to utilise the recent acquisition of Game Lounge to help Cherry achieve its online gaming goals.

“The acquisition of Game Lounge has enormous potential as we are already seeing that we are bringing in more customers at a lower cost,” Burvall said.

“Our relationship with them, which includes our recently launched white label SveaCasino.com, means we now have a stronger footprint in the world of affiliates and SEO.

“Cherry’s aim is to achieve profitability as quickly as possible and I’m confident we have the correct strategy in place to achieve exactly that.”

Burvall drew attention to the progress Cherry made under his leadership during the first quarter of this year, with online gaming up 49 per cent year-on-year in the period. Such activities now account for 63 per cent of the company’s total revenue.

This ongoing growth has also been boosted by the success of Yggdrasil Gaming, which Cherry holds an interest in. Burvall said this growth would have a major impact on Cherry’s own success within the online gaming market.

“I am very happy about the progress being made by Yggdrasil Gaming, the B2B company we have invested in, who grew by 156 per cent in the first quarter,” Burvall said.

“They have signed some huge names in the industry and their revenues are expected to grow further as they increase the number of games they offer and sign more operators.

“We have really built up momentum in the online space and it is my job to make sure we continue doing that.”